Is it offensive to call people with autism "mentally disabled"? [closed]

Mental handicap - offensive. (period)

Mental disorder - not true of Cerebral Palsy (it affects physical movement only in a majority of cases) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy. Not universally accepted as true of all autism. https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/conditions/autism-and-aspergers-syndrome

Mental disease - Not true of Cerebral Palsy (see above). Not universally accepted as true of all autism.

Mentally disabled - Not true of Cerebral Palsy (see above). Not universally accepted as true of all autism.

Person with special needs - is not generally considered offensive. But not everyone with the conditions you mentioned literally has 'special' needs. Many autistic and CP people live a full life in all areas without special support.

Mentally challenged - Not necessarily true of either condition. It implies they're stupid... when lot's of very bright people have one of these conditions.

The correct term to use in your app is neurological condition,

Autism is a complex sensory integration disorder which remains lifelong and nobody likes to being referred with a tag or a name. People with autism require special attention as they tend to shy for any kind of social interactions.

Writing or asking questions about disability needs sensitivity while referring to a third person.

Some of the basic guideline you can follow,

• Refer to disability only when it is related to the story or comes from a reputable source such as medical or licensed professional.
• When possible, seek for the advice from the person or the source.
• Make use of first-language wherever possible.
• Avoid the use of words like diversability and handicapped.

Being a Sped Teacher at ACCEL, individuals with autism spectrum are not different rather their perspective of life is vivid. The best kind of advice, if you’re writing or questioning someone, then you should always ask the person on how to refer them.

A few decades ago, the terms mental handicap or mentally handicapped were standard ways of describing mental disability. But they are now likely to cause offence and you should avoid using them. They've been replaced in all official contexts by the less negative term learning difficulties.